Peppermint Bark PEEPS Exist & They're Coated With Dark Chocolate

Each spring — or right after Valentine's Day, rather — a unique, easily-identifiable confection graces shelves at your local convenience store. Since the 1950s, fluorescent marshmallow chicks called Peeps have been an Easter basket staple. They're sweet, sugary, cute, and fun to put in the microwave. For awhile, Peeps were thought of as a springtime snack, and that's just the way it was; but as any marshmallow stan knows, Peeps now makes marshmallows for all occasions, making things like Peeps Delights Christmas Peppermint Bark something that we can indulge in even when the Easter Bunny is nowhere in sight.

Peeps Delights Christmas Peppermint Bark are, unsurprisingly, a Christmas-inspired take on the treat. Instead of being bathed in pink, blue, and yellow sugar, these Peeps are white with red speckles. The chicks come dipped in dark chocolate to create a perfect, peppermint bark-inspired treat perfect for the holidays. The creaminess of the marshmallow is tinged with a hint of peppermint flavor, and meshes perfectly with the bitterness of the dark chocolate. Who knew the best complement for dark chocolate was Peep? S'mores lovers probably had an idea.

If you're a resident of your local grocery's candy aisle, you already know Peeps has actually been expending its repertoire in recent years. Their current focus is definitely the holidays; Peppermint Bark Peeps are far from the only festive marshmallow treat the company has released this year. There are actually FIVE holiday Peep flavors in total.

Per Peeps' website, in addition to the Peppermint Bark Peeps, this holiday season you can also indulge in Candy Cane Peeps, which are basically the same Peep from the Peppermint Bark, but without the chocolate coating. Or, try some chocolate-flavored Peeps dipped in white fudge, which are the flavor of the Hot Chocolate Marshmallow Peeps. White fudge is also featured in the Christmas Cookie Peeps, which boast a Christmas Cookie-flavored Peep finished with a thick coating of it. Finally, if you're a BIG fan of Peeps, you have to try GIANT Gingerbread Man Peeps. These gingerbread-flavored marshmallows are shaped like gingerbread men and come in packages of either one or three.

If you're just looking for more ways to indulge in some good old-fashioned peppermint bark-inspired stuff this holiday season, though, you have plenty of options in that arena as well — most notably the Peppermint Bark Oreos that hit shelves this year, the Peppermint Bark Cheesecake that returned to the Cheesecake Factory, and the Oreo Cookie Peppermint Milkshake that just hit Burger King, and is basically peppermint bark that you can drink. Right now the world is basically your peppermint bark oyster.

As for holiday Peeps, the potential for eating them is infinite. If you're planning to make a gingerbread house this year, finish it with two Gingerbread Peeps standing outside instead of two cookies. Add some of the Christmas Cookie Peeps to the top of actually Christmas cookies, and serve hot chocolate with any of the Peeps covered in fudge. And of course, you can always fall back on the ol' holiday tradition of blowing them up in the microwave — a time-honored one that comes with a joy that Peep-smushing connoisseur knows will never fade with time.